The Solar Orbiter, a joint mission by the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA, has recently made a significant discovery. It has captured extreme ultraviolet images of the sun. These images show small-scale jets, known as “picoflare” jets, within a coronal hole. This discovery has ignited questions about the role of these jets in powering the solar wind and affecting space weather.
The Solar Orbiter
Launched in February 2020, the Solar Orbiter was created as a collaborative initiative between the ESA and NASA. The primary objective of this mission is to study the Sun’s magnetic fields, energetic particles, and plasma in their unblemished state. The scientists want to understand these aspects before they undergo alteration during their cosmic journey.
About Picoflare Jets
Picoflare jets are minor phenomena that occur on the sun. They release a substantial amount of energy in a short span, usually lasting only a few dozen seconds. In terms of energy, they carry about one-trillionth of what the most significant flares that the sun can produce. These jets gain their name from ‘pico,’ which represents an order of magnitude denoting 1012, or one trillionth of a unit. Magnetic reconnection, a process involving the breaking and reconnecting of magnetic field lines, is likely responsible for creating these jets in the sun’s coronal holes. This process releases a considerable amount of stored energy.
Solar Winds Explained
Originating from the Sun’s corona, or outermost atmosphere, the solar wind is formed due to the outward expansion of plasma or a collection of charged particles. This plasma keeps getting heated until the Sun’s gravity fails to contain it. It then travels along the radially outward-extending magnetic field lines of the Sun. As the Sun rotates once every 27 days, it winds up its magnetic field lines above its polar regions into a large rotating spiral, giving birth to a constant “wind.” Originating from the Sun’s surface areas known as “coronal holes,” these winds or “streamers” are responsible for creating this wind.
As the solar wind moves further away from the Sun, it forms a vast region around it called the “heliosphere.” This bubble-like structure extends beyond the orbits of most planets in our solar system.
The Influence of Solar Wind
When the solar wind hits the Earth, it gets deflected by the planet’s magnetic field. This causes the majority of its energetic particles to flow around us, with a protective layer known as the “magnetosphere” blocking the solar wind.
Solar Storms and their Impact on Earth
A significant solar storm or solar flare reaching the Earth can have various effects. These include potential failure of GPS and navigation systems, damage to power grids, intense auroras occurring over a considerable part of the Earth, disturbance to satellite orbits, and possible interruption to shortwave radio communication of aircraft flying over polar regions. Notably, these phenomena will not cause tsunamis at equatorial regions or forest fires over much of the planet. This information was noted in a previous year question of the UPSC Civil Services Examination.